Actor Dhanush is a tremendously busy man these days. He is producing his father-in-law’s Kaala, Vada Chennai and Enai Nokki Paayum Thota. The latter two features him as the lead actor. While Kaala releases worldwide on April 27, release dates of Vada Chennai and Enai Nokki Paayum Thota are yet to be confirmed. On Thursday the first look of Dhanush's much-awaited Vada Chennai was released and it shows Dhanush, handcuffed, peeping out of a police van.

According to its director Vetrimaaran, the film is based on the lives of a community which has been living in the same village for 35 years. The story spans across three decades, and we will see the actors donning different looks to fit in their respective time periods. Based in a rustic backdrop of Vada Chennai (North Madras), the film recently wrapped up its shooting schedule. The film has been in production for three years now. Dhanush reportedly plays Anbu, a National-Level Carrom player in the movie. North Madras is known for the several fishing hamlets and communities and it is very likely that Anbu belongs to one such community.

Aishwarya Rajesh portrays a character named Padma. While Samuthirakani will be seen playing Guna, Andrea Jeremiah plays Chandra. The film also stars Ameer, Daniel Balaji, Kishore, Karunas, Subramaniam Siva, and Cheenu Mohan in pivotal roles.

“The film will have my looks ranging from my school and college days, to me as a teacher and a married woman. It is going to be a different film for me. The character I play is that of a local girl. By local, I mean, a complete north Madras girl. From the body language to the way she speaks and her accent, girls from that locality will easily relate to my character. It’s also a multi-starrer film,” Aishwarya had said in an earlier interview.

The film also marks Dhanush’s third collaboration with Vetrimaaran, who have previously delivered hits like Pollathavan and Aadukalam. Dhanush in fact won a National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Aadukalam. The film also won five other National Film Awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay. They also co-produced M Manikandan’s Kaaka Muttai (2015) which won two National Awards. The director’s Visaaranai in 2016, which was also bankrolled by Dhanush, won the Vetrimaaran a National Film Award and was India’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at 2016’s Academy Awards.

The film has music by Santhosh Narayanan. Karthi and Silambarasan were earlier associated with the project before Dhanush took over as lead actor and producer. Anushka Shetty, Samantha Akkineni and Amala Paul were also supposed to play the female lead at one point. Apart from Vada Chennai, Dhanush has Maari 2 and an untitled film with Thenandal Studios Ltd.